Earlier this week we had the pleasure of visiting a gent to talk about his one-owner-from new Vespa 125 smallframe. Not only is it unusual to come across such a scooter first purchased in the 1970s and still with the same owner, but his is somewhat of a rare model in Great Britain too.
Independent Transport
Owner Richard hales from the same area of London as myself and in the early 1970s his father ventured south of the river to get him a 125cc runabout, this blue Vespa. At first glance this may seem like a common Piaggio-built smallframe 125cc Vespa Primavera, but it is in fact a Vespa Super built by MotoVespa in Spain. This scooter was officially imported in to the UK by Douglas and sold through their network of dealers, which is unusual as Piaggio in Italy usually supplied the British market directly. Andy is currently researching the story behind this Vespa for an article that is planned for edition 43 of ScooterNova magazine, and so far he has uncovered some interesting details.
Spanish Anomolies
As for the Spanish Vespa Super scooters, there are a few visual signs, not least the name badge on the legshields and spare wheel holder at the rear, that distinguish this from an Italian Vespa.
However over the years these unique pieces will have been removed, discarded and lost from other examples imported into Great Britain, with the scooters no doubt ultimately rebuilt and restored along the lines of a more common Piaggio Primavera rather than a MotoVespa scooter.
That makes this original condition example with extremely low mileage somewhat of a rarity, with everything from tyres to the paint exactly as they were when first sold in 1974.
Like it? It’s for sale!
If, like us this kind of rarity intrigues you then you’ll be pleased to learn this Vespa Super is up for sale and will form part of the H&H Classic Motorcycles auction. This takes place next Tuesday 27 March 2024 at the National Motorcycle Museum near Birmingham. Interested parties can either bid in person, by telephone or online. You can find out all you need to know by clicking here to go to the H&H website where you can also browse the other 26 scooters lots that are mainly classic scooters from the 1940s (Lambretta Model A) to the 1990s (Vespa Cosa 200 Mk2).
Meanwhile, Andy is continuing to dig through books and records, as well as talking to friends in Spain to uncover more information about this rare Vespa smallframe for the forthcoming article planned for edition 43 of ScooterNova magazine.
ScooterNova magazine is published every two months and available from all good scooter shops and independent outlets. You can subscribe and receive ScooterNova to your door on a regular basis, just click here for details. Alternatively you can buy individual magazines to be posted to your home and can click here to order the current edition 42.